Podcast Vol. 223 – Nov. 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!
In Vol. 223 we talk with Kleban Award Winning Lyricist Joe Iconis and Director John Simpkins about their two new shows, "Rewrite," and "Things to Ruin." Joe also performs two songs live in-studio. We also talk with the director and an actor from Theatre of the Expendable about their new production of Anton Chekov's "Three Sisters."

On the Boards

Rewrite – A Musical Comedy Triple Feature

Things to Ruin

We interview Kleban Award winning songwriter, Jo Iconis and Director John Simpkins about the show. In addition, Joe himself performs two songs, from Things to Ruin; “The War Song” and “Nerd Love” live in our studio.

ReWrite deals with time. With deadlines. The deadlines one imposes on oneself and the deadlines that the universe imposes on us. It’s about trying to live up to the expectations you created for yourself and trying to do it before your time runs out. It’s about normal people, not the sort of people who get musicals written about them. Normal people dealing with little problems that seem huge and huge problems boiled down to something a bit more manageable. ReWrite, a musical comedy triple feature includes the mini-musicals Nelson Rocks, Miss Marzipan and The Process.

NELSON ROCKS!: It’s 8:03am on April 23rd and Nelson Drucker, indefatigable and oppressively nerdy, is going to ask Jenny Veccarelli to the Junior Prom Right Now. Never mind that she’s “out of his league,” and never mind that the school bully is hot on his trail, and never mind that the whole frikkin’ universe seems to be conspiring against him- he’s asking her, man. Because he has to. Because if Jenny goes to the prom with him, all of his problems will be fixed and his life will be perfect! Yay. NELSON ROCKS! is a pop/rock musical about a young dude who is trying to fix his life before the “You better get to class” bell rings. Populated by adolescents, the show throbs and pulses along a locker-filled hallway, barreling towards its inevitable showdown.

MISS MARZIPAN: There’s a red-haired woman in a house dress, frantically preparing for a dinner party as if her life depended on it. Probably because her life really does depend on it. See, Big D is coming for dinner and if she can’t finish by the time he rings the doorbell, she’ll never be able to impress him with her famous Marzipan. And on top of the old ticking clock, there’s a slightly sticky situation going on inside the pantry. Oh, goodness. What’s a frazzled suburbanite with unstable tendencies to do? Why, it’s enough to make her, ya know. Murder somebody. MISS MARZIPAN is a dizzy musical about the life changing preparation that goes into a high stakes dinner party. A sort of heightened look at the suburban experience, the show is frantic and calm, violent and sweet. A little bit of blood is spilt, but nothing that some kitchen towels can’t clean up.

THE PROCESS: There is a writer. He has a deadline. The writer has a problem taking off his mask and writing about something real. But most importantly, the writer has a deadline. As the Dunkin Donuts fills with the voices in his head, the writer must conquer his writer’s block and finish his musical. The Dunkin Donuts counter lady acts as our guide through this passionate look into one man’s writing process.

On the Boards

Three Sisters

Theatre of the Expendable

We interview Director and Producer Jesse Edward Rosbrow and Actor David Ian Lee about their new production of Anton Checkov’s Three Sisters. We also delve into the differences in translations and the cultural differences that make translating difficult.

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Interested in what a major in Theatre and Business Arts could do for you?
Contact program director, Michael Gilboe at
michael.gilboe@uprovidence.edu, or 406-403-8323
and he’ll set up a time to talk with you about your individual needs.

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